Defender's Path
by Knife Hand
Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars. Chapter 10 up!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

* * *

Harry and Hermione moved confidently around the bench in the deserted potions lab. They were both dressed casually, in jeans and slightly loose shirts, their formal Hogwarts dress robes resting in a corner for the graduation ceremony slated to commence in about four hours. While they had passed their NEWTs, Hermione having the highest scores since Dumbledore, and were graduating they had wanted to finish the extra, advanced potions project they had been working on for the last three years. They had gone from a basic concept to an almost perfected technique for a completely new potion, something that very few Witches or Wizards had achieved, most new potions being refinements of old ones, and the few who had succeeded were considered Potion Grand Masters.

"We're still missing something." Harry mused.

"We need a catalyst, something that will begin the process on contact but will not continue the reaction once the target is achieved." Hermione agreed.

The array of ingredients before them was impressive, but all were commonly available, even in the Muggle world. Their objective was to create a simple, mass producible potion that can quickly heal a wound of almost any type. As Harry and Hermione were going over their notes as to any possible clashes for the potion.

"Well, we can't use Monkshood, as it would clash with the Willowbark." Hermione noted.

As they discussed the dilemma, they failed to notice Crookshanks slink into the room. He made his way to the bench they had been working at and jumped up, at the worst possible place. Several bottles of ingredients clattered on the bench, causing Crookshanks to jump down and run out of the room, but the damage had been done. Some of the knocked bottles simply broke on the bench, spilling their contents, while others fell sideways, creating a chain reaction of breaking bottles. When the first crash occurred, Harry and Hermione turned to the bench, just in time for the uncontrolled reaction of the wildly mixing ingredients to envelop them in what seemed like, but wasn't, an explosion. The actual explosion happened a second later and completely destroyed the bench. Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore were the first to arrive on the scene to find a bench destroyed and potion ingredients all over the place, with Harry and Hermione's dress robes untouched in the corner.

Over the next few weeks there were several rumours that The Boy Who Lived and the most promising witch in a Century had died, however Professor Dumbledore managed to convince most of the Wizarding World that they had gone into hiding to protect themselves while training to eliminate the Dark Lord Voldermort. Word spread quickly to the Dark Lord of both Harry Potter's supposed death and Dumbledore's proclamation. More than a few Death Eaters were punished or killed in the following months for failure to either confirm Harry's death or to find him.

* * *

Conscious returned slowly, revealing a large room that vaguely resembled a Muggle hospital. At a groan, Harry turned his head, which felt like it was in a vice, and saw Hermione lying beside him. The walls were a whitish metal that seemed to scream 'sterile' and they were laid out in comfortable beds. Around the walls were several cabinets bearing the universal sign for health that had no obvious way of opening. In one corner was a large tank filled with a pale blue liquid. The doors at one end of the room slid open with a mechanical hiss and revealed three young children around the age of ten. All three were dressed in sandy coloured clothing, consisting of slacks, a long sleaved shirt and a vest. All three had short hair, even though one was female, and two of them had a thin braid of hair at their right temple, the third, a boy, did not have the braid. The sight of the three newcomers registered something that he had seen but not noticed before and, with a quick check of his own body, he came to a quick decision. He was insane. It was the only logical conclusion, unless both Hermione and he had somehow regressed about eight years to the age of ten.

"Mione?" he said, his voice having also reverted to that of a boy.

Next to him, Hermione stirred on her bed then awoke. She looked around for a second then noticed Harry, then she quickly looked over herself.

"Harry?" she asked.

"Yep, crazy as it seems, it's me Mione."

"Must have been the potion spill." She muttered.

The three children approached the almost adult Witch and Wizard trapped in children's bodies.

"Hi, my name's Anakin Skywalker. How you doing?" the boy without the braid said.

"Confused and about a five alarm hangover." Harry said.

"Harry, don't be obtuse." Hermione scolded.

"Oh come on Mione. Last week we got top scores on our NEWTs, now look at us." Harry responded.

"What are newts? I've never heard of them before. Name's Jasmine Bores by the way." The girl said.

"My name's Hermione Granger, this is Harry Potter." Hermione introduced.

"I'm Marcus Wiseman. We just came to check on you. Masters Windu and Yoda were talking about you." The second boy said.

Harry and Hermione shared a quick glance that conveyed more than the others could possibly imagine.

"Who are Masters Windu and Yoda, and how did we get here?" Harry asked.

"Masters Windu and Yoda are leaders on the Jedi Council." Jasmine explained.

"How you got here is, unusual. Most of the Jedi Council, including Masters Windu and Yoda, were returning with my master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and me from the peace celebration and funeral of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. As we approached the steps of the Jedi Temple, there was a flash of light and you two appeared out of thin air." Anakin said.

"That's weird." Marcus commented.

"For us, not so much." Hermione said under her breath.

A muted series of bell tolls sounded through the room, while loud enough to hear, the walls were designed to subdue the sound enough not to wake a sleeping patient.

"Sorry, but we have got to go. Hope to see you around some time." Jasmine said as the visitors left.

"Well this is going to be fun." Harry said sarcastically about a minute after the door closed.

"Harry, did you sense something familiar in those three?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah." Harry replied after a minutes thought. "I don't know how to describe it. A kind of warmth. You have it too, Mione, and you never did before."

"I thought as much. Interesting." Hermione said before rolling over and falling asleep.

Harry joined her in slumber a few seconds later.

* * *

Harry brushed his hand though his hair. Even after about three weeks, he still was not used to the short cut hairstyle that was a requirement of Padawn Learners. It looked especially unusual on Hermione. They followed their Masters onto the Lightsaber training field. Harry had been apprenticed to Master Mace Windu, noted as one of the best swordsman in the Jedi Order after Master Yoda, while Hermione had Master Adi Gallia, an exotic, dark skinned woman who sat on the Council. When they had been presented in front of the Council there had been much controversy, but the major argument against their training, their age, had been countered by the exemption made for Anakin Skywalker. Masters Windu and Gallia started the pair running though a set of basic exercises with wooden training sabers.

Harry and Hermione began to run through the exercises, as discrete exercises at first but after about an hour, they began to string the different moves together. Each had set a steady pace throughout their exercise, only going slightly faster by the end of the two hours than at the beginning. Just as Master Windu was about to call them to a stop, Hermione finished followed by Harry about five seconds later.

"I'm impressed. Most Padawn go too fast at the start of practice and are labouring by the end. You both did very well, I can see you becoming great with a Lightsaber." Mace said.

"Thank you, Master." Harry said.

"I agree." Adi added. "Your actions show a maturity well beyond your years."

Hermione blushed.

"Only about eight years." Harry said under his breath.

"Come. It is time for your meditation sessions." Master Gallia said.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

* * *

Harry ran down the cramped, dim lit hallway of the massive space station. His sixteen year old body was a lean as it had been at the same age back at Hogwarts, but now it had slightly more muscle mass and he was stronger, thanks to six years of Lightsaber training. The glowing blade of his Lightsaber flicked and the energy bolt was reflected back at the battledroid who had fired it. As the droid collapsed, three more rounded the corner blacking him off from the elevator. Running as fast as he could, Harry sped towards the momentarily confused battledroids. With a Force Push, he cleared the way to the elevator, then he slid crossing the flanking corridors and into the elevator, avoiding the volley of blaster fire.

As the elevator began to ascend, Harry deactivated the blade on his Lightsaber, hanging it from his belt, and fix up the fall of his Jedi robe. He calmly walked out of the elevator when the doors opened into a large reception area. He knew there would be no trouble here. The personal bodyguards of the six factions attending this negotiation were all present and none trusted the others enough to try anything. He crossed the reception area and quietly slipped into the actual conference. This negotiation was so important that three Jedi had been sent to mediate, two of them from the Jedi Council. Master Mace Windu was present, of course, otherwise Harry would not be here. The second Council member was Master Adi Gallia, with Hermione standing behind her. The third Jedi was a Knight, skilled with negotiation, that Harry had never met and his Padawn was currently absent. Harry waited till Master Windu was not occupied then leaned in to whisper in his Master's ear.

"Master, it is as we suspected. It's the Technor Union. Cargo Bays 3 and 4." Harry said.

"Deal with it. Take Padawn Granger." Mace said.

"Yes Master." Harry replied.

Standing up, Harry caught Hermione's eye then flicked his eyes to the door. She nodded slightly and they both slipped out of the room. None of the delegates took notice of this as, due to Master Windu and Harry's suspicions, the Padawn had been slipping in and out of the meeting since the beginning, three days ago. Some of it had been to search for evidence and some to make the Padawn into background features for this moment.

When the pair reached the closest cargo bay, number 4, they slipped quietly into the room and shed their robes. The first indication that something was wrong to the occupants of the cargo bay was with a quick succession of 'Snap-hisses', universally known as the sound of a Lightsaber.

"By the order of the Jedi Council, you are all under arrest. You are all to drop your weapons immediately, all droids are to deactivate." Harry called out to the stunned room.

"Do you really expect that to work?" Hermione asked sceptically, flexing her grip on her two blue bladed Lightsabers.

"Nope." Harry said, shifting his stance slightly and holding his green bladed, double ended Lightsaber like a Quarterstaff.

"Get them." Shouted one of the semi metal encased life forms of the Technor Union.

"Typical." Hermione said, twirling her twin blades to deflect several incoming blaster bolts.

Harry just shook his head and grinned slightly as he sliced through a droid with one end of his blade while deflecting a bolt with the other, slowly moving away from Hermione in order to give themselves more room to fight.

* * *

Ron knelt down and put the binoculars up to his eyes. He was obscured from the camp below by the foliage. Lowering the binoculars, he took hold of the German made G3 assault rifle and thumbed the talk button on his throat mike.

"Confirmed Death Eater camp. Twenty Plus. Requesting orders." He whispered, rattling off a set of coordinates.

"Return to camp." The order came over the earpiece.

"Rodger." Ron responded.

With hand gestures, Ron commanded his SAS patrol to return to their camp. His jungle camouflage uniform, face paint and hair darkener helped him blend in with the trees, helped by his rigorous SAS training.

Over fourteen months had passed since his two best friends had disappeared. Dumbledore had said that they had gone into hiding, but Ron never believed it. He would have known. Barely a month after Harry and Hermione had disappeared, Lord Voldermort had announced his presence to the world, by a very public attack on the Muggle Football grand final. After two days of Manchester United and Leads fans blaming each other, the Muggles had finally figured out that something else was going on.

A massive joint announcement by the British Prime Minister and Susan Bones, the Minister Of Magic, had ended the long secrecy of the Magical World. As the magical and Muggle worlds came together, the Ministry of Magic called for Witch and Wizard volunteers to help protect the cities and join with the Muggle Militaries to aid in combating Lord Voldermort's forces. Ron, having been on the Fast Track Auror Program with Harry and Hermione, had been one of the first to volunteer, and had been placed for training with the SAS, one of the best Special Forces units in the world.

As with the defence programs and the general populus, at first the SAS Major he had been assigned to had been sceptical and thus had only used him for mystical information, but as time had passed, and battles fought, Ron had become accepted as part of the unit, and now ranked Corporal. He had also had to adapt to the SAS as much as they had to him. Thanks to his Muggle crazy father, Ron was more accepting of Muggle technology than many Wizards.

Early in the fighting, the Death Eaters had sorely underestimated the potential of the Muggle Militaries and had learnt the hard way that bullets killed just as effectively, if not more so than the Killing Curse. In under a year of full cooperation many cities were beginning to become much better protected than they had been, using booth Muggle and Magical means of defence. Even Hogwarts' defences had been bolstered by Muggle weaponry. As the early pitched battles died down, everyone settled in for a long and bloody war.

The patrol's arrival back at camp broke Ron out of his musing. As the patrol split up, Ron headed for the command tent.

"Report Corporal." The Major said.

"A Death Eater camp here, sir. About twenty hostiles. Just tents, no indication of immediate plans to move or that they had been observed. No defensive structures or spells set up." Ron reported.

"Thank you, Corporal. Dismissed." The Major said.

As Ron turned to leave, the tent flap opened and a messenger ran in. After a second, he recognised her as one of Patel sisters from Hogwarts. With a smile and a nod he left the tent, knowing from her eyes that she would seek him out before she left. Their year from Hogwarts had been spread all over Brittan, several of them were dead. Just to talk, or to comfort each other, either way it would not mean anything. Not love, not friendship, not now. There was a war on, and no one was young anymore.

* * *

The almost constant rap of wood on wood echoed through the courtyard, interspersed with the occasional crack of wood on flesh. Harry, Hermione and Anakin walked out into the practice yard. As with his friends, Anakin's body had hardened over the last six years. He was more muscular than either Harry or Hermione. Hermione looked more like a dancer while Harry's lean frame implied speed and endurance. Each dressed in their Jedi uniforms, sans Robes, they proceeded to the racks where they retrieved wooden replica of their lightsabers.

"Heard there was a problem on that negotiation last month." Anakin said as they approached a vacant area of the yard.

"Technor Union tried to kill most of the other delegates." Hermione said, testing the balance of her training swords.

"Same old, same old." Harry said, launching an attack at Anakin's gut.

Anakin blocked the attack then jumped over the swing of one of Hermione's blades as her other one tried to bite into Harry's gut.

"How was your mission?" Harry asked, slipping away from Anakin's downward attack, blocking it with one end of his training staff, by stepping behind Hermione and blocking her defensive, backhand upswing with the other end.

"The usual. Show up, get shot at, talk, get shot at, leave." Anakin replied, having swung around for a head shot at Hermione, which she blocked, kicked Harry in the gut and then jumped backwards and away to avoid the swing of Hermione's other blade.

Harry recovered from the kick to the gut and approached the fray, whirling his staff, just as Anakin approached from the other direction. Hermione saw them coming and began weaving her two training blades around her body, creating a speeding barrier of wood that was very difficult to penetrate. Anakin's attack at her seemingly undefended back was diverted by a blur of wood that almost disarmed him.

As the sparing match continued, a crowd of Padawn and Jedi Knights gathered to watch the display. When the session finished almost an hour later, all three had several bruises where the practice blades had met skin.

"Much improved, you all have."

"Thank you, Master Yoda." Hermione said as they all bowed.

"Good work, keep up. Yes?" Yoda said before leaving the training yard.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: Sorry about the long delay on update. Mucho stuff going on in RL and I just haven't had the time.

AN3: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

Harry wandered through the bustling throngs on one of the many sidewalk levels of Coruscant, mindless of the pressing mass of both humans and Aliens that surrounded him. While he still wore his Jedi clothes, not that he had much else to wear; he had the hood of his robes up so as to provide some anonymity. Hermione's birthday was a matter of days away and he was looking for a present. She was about to turn seventeen, or twenty-five depending on how you looked at it. Due to the respect accorded to Jedi, a small gap opened before Harry and closed up behind him as he walked, not that he paid any attention to it. Harry wanted to get Mione the perfect present, after all, he had known her most of his life and many of his best memories, and more than a few of his worst, had her by his side.

A disturbance broke out less than a hundred yards from Harry, breaking him out of his memories. Lengthening his stride, he quickly reached the disturbance, and lowered his hood, so that he could look those involved in the eye, which also revealed his Padawn's Braid. Upon seeing a Jedi, one of the arguers, a short man with shifty eyes, tried to run, but was instantly stopped by Harry's Lightsaber resting millimetres from his throat.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Harry asked with a firm voice.

The short man who had tried to run said that he had been swindled on a business deal by the taller man. The taller man claimed that he had walked in on the shorter man in the middle of a drug deal.

"You." Harry said, pointing at a random bystander. "Call Sector security."

Harry stood guard over the two men, both thinking that the other was going to be arrested, until security arrived. Neither man had told the complete truth. As both men were dragged away, the fight a result of a drug deal gone bad, Harry shook his head slightly, and his eye caught it, the perfect present for Hermione. Over the next twenty minutes Harry had a unique experience. Having to haggle with a shopkeeper to get the price up, finally agreeing on a price that seemed fair though he still thought it was too low.

* * *

Mace Windu, accompanied by Master Yoda and Master Adi Gallia, marched towards the Padawn dormitory. One of the young Jedi Knights, only having passed the Trials two years prior, had reported a disturbance in the Padawn common area involving of Padawn Grangers and Padawn Potter. When the door to common area slid open, it was not what Mace had expected.

"Masters, come in. Have a drink. They're non alcoholic." Harry said cheerfully.

The room was full of Padawn, with a few Jedi Knights. Anakin Skywalker was there, and so was Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was currently talking to Hermione Granger.

"What is happening here?" Mace asked.

This did not seem like the disruptive and possibly violent event that the young Knight had reported. This seemed more like a friendly celebration, but of what seemed a bit obscure.

"It's Mione's birthday, so Anakin, Jasmine, Marcus and I organised this party to celebrate." Harry explained, indicating to the Padawn as he said their names.

"A celebration of life, is it?" Master Yoda asked. "Very good, very good. A drink, hum, I would like. Yes?"

"Right away, Master Yoda. Master Windu, Master Gallia, would you like a drink?"

Mace nodded slowly, a bit stunned, before entering the room, while Adi simply shook her head.

"I have other matters to attend to." Master Gallia said before she left.

"Here you go, Master." Harry said, handing Mace a drink.

Mace nodded his head at his apprentice as he and Master Yoda looked over the crowd.

"Mione! Get over here, got some more well wishers." Harry called.

"Coming Harry, hold your horses." She called back.

"It is a tradition where Hermione and I come from to celebrate someone's birthday. You greet her with 'Happy Birthday'." Harry explained.

"Happy Birthday, Young Granger." Yoda greeted. "Many more celebrations ahead, we hope, for you."

"Thank you Master Yoda." Hermione replied.

"Happy Birthday." Mace said simply.

"Thank you Master Windu." Hermione said again. "Please have a good time."

Mace wandered around the room, eventually meeting up with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Enjoying the party, Master Windu?" Obi-Wan asked.

"It's not what I expected when I received a report of a disturbance." Mace admitted.

"Yeah, well apparently this is the first time all five of them have been together for a birthday since they met." Obi-Wan said indicating to the five Padawn Harry had mentioned. "Anakin took control of the transport on our way home and redlined the engines just to get here in time. Although he tells me that Granger and Potter have private birthday parties every year since they arrived."

The two Jedi watched as their charges had fun and showered praise on Hermione.

"Perhaps we should encourage more Padawn and Jedi to celebrate like this? It seems to promote cooperation." Obi-Wan suggested.

"That discussion, in council, interesting, will be." Master Yoda said from behind them.

"Perhaps, but it is not a bad idea." Mace agreed.

* * *

"Ready?" Harry asked from the doorway.

Hermione was just slipping a long, wooden case into her pack. Harry knew well what was in the case, as he had a similar case in his own pack. Although they had hardly used them since their arrival, their wands were still precious items and always close at hand.

"Ready. Let's go." Hermione replied, slinging her pack over her shoulder.

Harry adjusted his own pack as they walked down the hallway. The Hawk pendant he had gotten for her birthday, two weeks before, had slipped out of the front of her shirt and Mione absently tucked it back out of sight. Harry grinned at Mione's actions, knowing how much that pendant meant to her.

They reached the Temple hanger bay and boarded one of the small Jedi transports. This was to be their first mission without their Masters along, and ironically, it related to the fight Harry had broken up when looking for Hermione's birthday present. Hermione sat down in the pilot's seat and began pre-flight checks while Harry cleared their launch with both traffic and orbital controllers.

"Funny how you are so afraid of brooms but love almost every other form of flight." Harry commented as he started typing instructions into the Navigational Computer.

"I just don't feel comfortable flying with a long bit of wood between my legs." Hermione said, and then paused. "Oh you know what I mean."

Harry struggled to control his sniggering.

"So." He said after composing himself somewhat. "What's Hoth like this time of year?"

"Colder than Malfoy's bed sheets."

"Ouch."

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

The blue fire burned on nothing. Back in their first your at Hogwarts, the fire had been Hermione's little trick and had proved mildly useful as a distraction and a curiosity, as she kept them in little jars. Now, however, the magical fire was of vital importance.

Harry groaned in pain again, so Hermione turned from the fire to check him again. She limped slightly, her right leg a mass of bruises and her right shoulder was badly jarred. Harry was in much worse condition, his ribs were broken, one of them had punctured his lung and a nasty head wound, which had covered his face in blood, now left a clotted mess of his hair. She had patched them both up as well as she could, using both magic and the force, but things were not looking good. After effectively shutting down the drug smuggling operation, they had been heading back to the transport when they had been caught in one of Hoth's infrequent glacierquakes. They were now trapped in a massive crevasse that had been closed off during the icefall of the aftershock. During the icefall more than a tone of jagged icicles had fallen directly on their lightsabers, which they had lost in their own falls. Luckily they had kept their wands securely fastened inside their robes, rather than merely hanging at their belts, and wands were far sturdier than a normal piece of wood.

Pressing her hand lightly to Harry's forehead, she checked the spell she had used to ensure that the broken rib would not further puncture his lung. He was stable, but still asleep, so she turned back to the blue fire which provided both heat and light to the icy cavern. Knowing that they could not make their way back to the transport until Harry awoke, at the earliest, Hermione was stuck, staring at the fire, with her thoughts and fears.

She had known Harry for more than half her life and now she could not imagine living without him. Once she would have included Ron in that thought but that had changed in Fifth Year when Ron spent six months on the edge of self destruction after his father and older brother Percy had been killed by Death Eaters. While Ron had been taking almost suicidal risks, Harry and Hermione had turned to each other to bring them through the pain they felt at the loss, the Weasley's were family after all. When Ron had finally come to his senses they were all still best friends, but the bond between Harry and Hermione went deeper. It was that incident that had sparked the potion project that eventually sent them to the Jedi temple. Ironically they found out what the missing ingredient was, and the name of they potion. It is known throughout the galaxy as Bacta.

She hated feeling so helpless. She needed to help Harry and she couldn't. She had sweated him through his exams, followed him through every adventure, every battle. Taken curses for him, even once when she thought it was certain death. Cried on his shoulder, sat by his bed in the infirmary, woken to see him sitting by hers. They had been through so much together, and now she feared she was going to have to watch the man she loved die lying in an ice cavern on a frozen planet a million light years from home.

'LOVE?!?' she thought, surprised. 'I love Harry?'

"Mione?"

Harry's voice snapped her out of her reprieve.

"I'm here." She said, rushing to his side.

"Help me up." He croaked.

"I don't think you should move yet. Give the spells more time." She said, concern dripping from her voice.

"We need to get back to the ship, Mione." He said, holding out his hand. "Besides, my arse has fallen asleep."

She gently helped him up and draped his arm around her shoulders as she leant his uninjured side against her body for support. She had always hated being called Mione, but from him, it sounded like the sweetest word in the galaxy. She simply enjoyed the feel of his weight against her side as they slowly made their way down the crevasse, lit be her wand. It felt right.

* * *

Harry floated. Most times when people on a planet say the floated it was an emotional thing, but Harry literally floated. Ok, it was in a huge vat of Bacta, but still. Apart from the oxygen mask that kept him from drowning, he wore only a pair of tight, black swimming trunks. His focus, however, was not on his own situation, it was on Hermione, or more accurately how little Hermione had on. She was floating in a Bacta vat opposite his and was only dressed in a tight, black bikini. The med-tech's had put Hermione under as she recovered from the ordeal on Hoth.

They had made a rough trip back to the transport. Aside from sliced up hands and feet from the jagged ice, Harry had serious internal bleeding and had shattered his forearm when he had fallen, causing Hermione to fall as well and further jar her shoulder. The worst injury had been from a fallen icicle. It had ripped a path down the left side of Hermione's face and embedded itself into her, at that point undamaged, shoulder. While the melting icicle had cleaned out the shoulder, the gash down her face, which started about half an inch above her eyes, but off to the side of her head, and proceeded down her face, passing just in front of her ear, and ending at the jaw line had become infected and would certainly scar.

A gamut of emotions ran through Harry, ranging from the obvious, with the raging hormones of his body and the sight he was enjoying, to concern and even fear. His concern was for Mione's physical and emotional safety, despite the fact that she was getting the best treatment in the Republic, he could not help but think that he should have been looking after her in the ice cavern instead of her looking out for him, as she had always done. It was his turn, damit. She should have been safe. It's all he ever wanted.

The fear was a bit more complicated. He feared he would lose her, that she would die, that she would walk out and leave him. He feared she would let him in as well. That she would die to save him, that he would fail to protect her. That she would find out his true feelings. That she would not love him the way he loved her. These fears were not new, and he kept them locked away deep inside him, as he had every day since he had fallen head over heals in love with his best friend, all those years ago. It hadn't been a big thing, but it had changed the way he saw her. She had laughed, and his heart had melted. It had been very early in their Fifth Year. The three of them had been studying down by the lake, when Ron made a stupid joke about Professor Snape. She laughed and it felt like someone had just tuned on the light in a room where he had spent a century in darkness.

A tapping on the glass of his vat pulled him out of his thoughts. Marcus, Jasmine and Anakin were on the other side of the glass.

"Can't take you anywhere without you getting into trouble." Anakin shouted through the glass, only to get elbowed in the ribs by Jasmine.

Harry chuckled to himself, then groaned as his ribs twinged. Women were the same everywhere.

"Two day's and you are out." Marcus told him, holding up two fingers, the jerking his thumb over his shoulder, a gesture he had picked up from Harry.

Harry nodded, seeing as he could not talk with the mask on, then pointed at Hermione's vat. Jasmine raised three fingers, and he replied with a thumb's up. Mione would be in her vat a day longer than he would, Master Windu would kill him for losing his lightsabers and he still had to deal with his feelings for Hermione. Joy!

* * *

A snap of a twig was the only warning. Four of them ran out of the underbrush and Ron knew they were not Death Eaters and exchanged his G3 for his wand. The dozen who stoped under partial cover about a dozen feet away were, and they immediately began firing off spells at the SAS. His troopers spread out and hunkered down behind whatever cover they could find and opened fire, two firing at the charging figures, which staggered under the blow of the bullets but kept coming.

"Vampires." Ron said calmly to the two troopers, who shifted their aim to the dark, magically controlled, wolves who were trying to flank them.

Ron managed to drop three of the vampires who were charging with spells, the last one charged strait at him, it's slicked back blond hair reminding him of Malfoy. When it reached him, he managed to drive his wand through its heart, causing it to disintegrate into dust. Retrieving his assault rifle, Ron scanned the area, but his troops had managed to drive off or kill the attackers.

"All clear Sarge." A trooper reported. "We lost Mitchell, Clark and Watts is badly wounded."

Ron nodded sadly and indicated that they should move out. They moved carefully but quickly through the forest, everyone with their rifles at the ready.

The decision had been made that Voldermort and his followers had to be driven out of Great Brittan. One square mile at a time if need be. Orders for the Unit's role in the new offensive had been what Padma Patel had delivered two weeks ago, along with his promotion to Sargent. Things had been hard all over, she had told him what she knew as they lay in his blankets, sweaty and naked. He held her as she told of her twin sister, who was in hospital with her lower right leg blown off at the knee, thanks to the Death Eater's magical version of a land mine. They had also talked about the rumours, ranging from Death Eaters beginning to use guns to the hoped for Dragon Corpse that his brother Charlie was supposedly training in a secret location.

Snapping back to the present, Ron scanned the brush. There would be more patrols and contact with the enemy. This was a rescue mission. A company of Airborne had been dropped in this area, and two platoons had been cut off and badly chewed up. His job was to go in and get them out, if possible, or clear an LZ and hold it so the choppers could come in and extract them. At last contact, about half of cut off the Airborne were still alive, along with one of their 'Magical Specialists'. The other platoon's 'Magical Specialist' had broken a vicious Death Eater attack by charging into it with half a dozen of the Airborne troopers from his Platoon, all dieing in the attempt but buying time for the survivors. The remaining Witch had set some defensive Wards and they were dug in to defend till help got there.

Ron vowed he would get them out. That witch was his sister.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

Harry walked into the small cabin and dumped the groceries down on the kitchen bench.

"Mione. I'm back." He called as he began to unpack the food into the fridge and cupboards.

Harry was dressed in a pair of khaki green pants, with numerous pockets, boots, a white t-shirt and a black jacket. For the last six months Harry and Hermione had been on leave from the Jedi Temple, much needed time to recuperate. They had come to this small, virtually unknown planet that was technically neither in the Republic nor a part of the Outer Rim. The almost undeveloped planet was only visited by two types. Merchants who dealt in the rare and valuable woods that were logged on the planet and the small but dedicated sports fishers of the Galaxy. Upon arrival they had given the impression that they were the latter.

The system, let alone this particular planet, had not seen a Jedi in almost ten generations, so they had been able to walk around with both their new lightsabers, which they had made back at the temple before their leave, and their wands easily accessible. Their Padawan braids also did not cause any comment. Not that they had been to either of the two settlements nearby that much.

Hermione emerged from the other room. She was dressed in what passed for jeans and a simple white blouse. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, except for her Padawan braid. The scar down the left side of Hermione's face had faded from its initial angry, infected red to a simple line, but a line that Harry could not look at without feeling shame.

"All the arrangements set?" she asked.

"Yes." He replied. "Everything's ready for next week."

They spent the next few hours on the back veranda of the cabin, watching the wildlife over the large lake and the sun sink down towards the horizon, Harry's arm over the back of the two seater bench, and Hermione's head resting on his shoulder.

This would all be over soon. Their leave was almost up.

* * *

Hermione set the small transport down on the main Jedi landing pad. Harry and Hermione grabbed their duffle bags, slinging them over one shoulder, and made their way out onto the pad, where they were met by a small party. Masters Windu, Yoda and Gallia were waiting, along with Jasmine Bores and Anakin Skywalker.

"Welcome back, Padawan." Master Windu said.

"Too see you again, pleased I am." Yoda added.

Anakin and Jasmine both approached the new arrivals, Harry and Anakin shook hands while Jasmine and Hermione hugged.

"It's good to see you, Harry. Especially now." Anakin said.

"Why now? What's happened?" Hermione asked, her scar restricting her facial muscles enough that her expression was a lot meaner than she intended.

"It's Marcus." Jasmine said. "He's dead."

"How?" Harry asked.

"He was killed during a trade negotiation in the outer rim with his Master." Master Gallia said. "They blew up the entire dock as soon as they touched down."

Harry and Hermione paused for a second.

"Jasmine, we are going to need drinks. Usual mix, but include some real alcohol, no synthahol." Hermione ordered, starting to move off with Jasmine.

"Anakin, you get the food. Just nibbles and such, I'll organise the room." Harry was saying to Anakin at the same time, heading off in another direction.

"Hold it!" Mace Windu ordered, bringing everyone to a stop. "Padawan's Granger and Potter, we already have a memorial service scheduled to commemorate Padawan Wiseman's death."

"This isn't a memorial service, Master Windu." Harry said. "It's a wake."

"Familiar with this, I am not. Wake, what is?" Master Yoda said.

"We will not be commemorating his death." Hermione replied. "We will celebrate his life."

"Birthday Party, like. Yes?" Yoda said, getting a nod from the British Padawan's. "Attend I shall. Found Padawan Wiseman I did."

* * *

"Alright. Everyone, except those with a moral objection or where it would cause severe nervous dysfunction, grab a real Alcohol drink. The others take another kind of drink." Harry said to the gathering.

The gathering was made up of Padawan's, a few Jedi Knights and a number of Masters from the Council. Harry, Hermione, Jasmine and Anakin had told a number of stories about Marcus' life. Even Yoda had told a story or two about him as a youngling.

"To Marcus." Hermione said, raising her glass.

"To Marcus." Harry responded, followed by everyone else.

The Wake began to break up after the toast. Harry and Hermione were farewelling the guests at opposite ends of the room when Master Windu approached Harry.

"Sorry to do this now but the Council has a mission for you." Mace said.

Harry glanced across to see Master Gallia talking with Hermione.

"Now?" Harry asked.

"The mission itself will not start for a few weeks, but you will need to start preparations tomorrow." Mace replied. "Padawan Granger is being given her own mission."

Harry nodded, gathering his thoughts about being away from Hermione for an extended period of time.

"Also another thing needs to happen before you leave on your mission." Master Windu added.

Harry merely looked at the black Master, hiding his frustration at both the drawn out way of his Master, and that the morning of his friend is being usurped.

"Your Trials." Mace said with a small grin.

* * *

Ron and Ginny walked into the main hall of the Hogwarts Castle. The Castle was vastly different then when they had been students. Ron was in his SAS Sergeant's uniform, his left arm bound in a sling, while Ginny was limping, her thigh having been hit by a cutting curse, but proud in her Airborne uniform. The Great Hall had been turned from a dining room into a command centre for the effort to drive the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters out of England. There were people rushing everywhere, the kind of controlled chaos that you found in well organised and run military command structures, but with uniforms of every branch of the Service mixed in with the robes of Witches and Wizards.

Ron saw Padma Patel off to one side, awaiting messages to deliver. Ron and Padma's eyes met for a second but they gave no greeting or indications of intimacy. What had happened, had happened. It may happen again but there were no expectations or attachments. Colin Creevey rushed into the room and joined a discussion around one of the side tables, rolling out a large piece of paper. No one was surprised that the little shutterbug had gotten into the photo-recognisance division.

The two Weasley's followed instructions and reported to a young army Captain who was to be their superior until they recovered enough to rejoin their units.

"Sergeant Ron Weasley, reporting as Ordered."

"Magical Specialist Ginny Weasley, reporting, Captain."

Captain Oliver Wood returned the salutes he had received, and lead the pair out of the Great Hall and up the main stairs.

"While here, you will be working under me in the intelligence division. Our job is to try and figure out what moves the enemy will be making and decipher any intercepted intelligence." Oliver explained as he led them up the stairs and down one of the corridors. "We are all Purebloods, so the theory goes that we would have a better understanding of the enemy's reasoning. A muggle and muggle born group is performing their own analysis on everything we look at too."

Oliver led them into what was once a classroom but now acted as a think-tank room. Inside were eight Witches and Wizards. Four, who Ron and Ginny did not, or vaguely, recognise were all dressed in military uniforms and had injuries. One Army, two Marines and one Air Force. Also there was Neville Longbottom, who was dressed in the uniform of the Medical Corp; Cho Chang; Daphne Greengrass and Luna Lovegood.

Ron and Ginny took seats around one of the three large tables set up and began to work through the intelligence data the group was working on.

'Things are much simpler on the ground.' Ron quickly decided.

* * *

"Sergeant Dursley." One of the offices said, entering into the mess hall.

Harry looked up at the mention of his cover name. For the last two years he had been under cover, working in the military branch of one of the major smuggling ring operations. He got up from the mess table where he had been eating with his squad and moved over to the entrance of the mess hall.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Harry asked.

"Sergeant James Dursley, I would like you to meet Sergeant Luna Evans." The Lieutenant replied.

A female figure stepped through the doorway, her hair kept back in a mid-length ponytail, dressed in a uniform and her face bisected by a familiar scar. They were both able to keep the surprise and recognition from their faces and voices.

"A pleasure to meet you Sergeant." Harry said.

"Likewise." Hermione responded. "I'm looking forward to working with you and your squad."

"Indeed." Harry nodded.

Harry suspected that Hermione's mission was much the same as his. They had both been sent to infiltrate different criminal organisations through their military or enforcer sections. Their orders were to gather intelligence and, where possible to divert or minimise the ability of these organisations to bring trained guns to a situation that threatened civilians or government operations.

"Dursley, finish your meal and get your squad squared away while I escort Evans to the Non-Com barracks." The Lieutenant said. "Mission briefing in half an hour."

"Yes Sir." Harry said, snapping off a salute. "Sir, is it the Hutt Clans or Republic Security?"

"Neither." The Lieutenant replied. "See you at the Briefing."

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

Harry noticed a special flashing light in what appeared to be a panel of flashing lights on the wall. He was sitting at the desk in his quarters, dressed only in a pair of cargo pants, going over the routine paperwork running a military Squad.

"Argh. It's too early for this." He moaned to no one.

"I'll do the wards then, shall I?" Hermione replied sarcastically, as she rose from the bed, wrapping the bed sheet around her naked body.

After that first operation with both of their squads six months ago, they had pretended to form a fast friendship and then four months ago had began a 'new relationship', and had gotten private couples quarters three months ago.

Hermione was both putting on clothes and setting up the anti-eavesdropping wards simultaneously while Harry put on a shirt and retrieved one of their Jedi Holographic Communications devices.

Doing a quick double check that everything appeared in order, Harry activated the com unit, and they were greeted with the image of Master Yoda.

"Master Yoda." Hermione Greeted. "What is the emergency?"

Both of them were in deep cover so only carefully scheduled and coded reports were made and no direct contact unless there was an extreme emergency.

"Over, your missions are. On route to you, I am. Be there in twelve hours, I will be." Yoda said.

"We're being pulled out? Why?" Harry asked.

They had both put in two and a half years into this operation to bring down the biggest criminal organisation in known space.

"Master Kanobe, Padawan Skywalker and Senator Amidala, captured they have been by Count Duku on Geniossis. Leading rescue party, Master Windu is. Come you must to Kamino. Retrieve a clone army we must to ensure rescue of Kanobe, Skywalker and the Senator. In twelve hours, in orbit you must be. Retrieve you we shall."

"And our mission?" Hermione asked. "We are close to full entry into inner circle."

"Information you have, to me send. Pass to reliable security, we shall. Leave quietly if possible." Yoda ordered.

"Affirmative. Message received. See you in twelve hours." Harry replied.

Harry and Hermione began to get their gear together, both their hidden Jedi equipment and their military equipment, including their issued assault blasters. Twelve hours later their stolen shuttle met up with Yoda's starship which was back into Hyper drive in under ten minutes. Sergeant Dursley and Sergeant Evans were not missed until reveille the following day, but by then the base had more pressing matters than two AWOL Sergeants.

* * *

Three assault landers barely touched down, the forty passengers all disembarking quickly and efficiently, every single one with blasters sweeping to cover any possible ambush. The figures all quickly sprinted into cover behind a series of boulders in the, for the moment, deserted gulley.

Thirty-eight of the soldiers were equipped with the gleaming white armour and long barrelled blasters of the Clone Troopers, their faces all hidden behind the fully enclosed Mandalorian style helmets. The other two were very different. They were dressed in tan coloured fatigues, designed to blend into the surrounding rock. Over the fatigues they wore combat jackets, which contained synthetic composite trauma plates. Their helmets did not enclose the face, which were obscured by combat paint, but did provide neck protection and their much shorter; bullpup style blasters swept the scene faster than the Clone Troopers longer weapons.

"Leapfrog advance." Harry ordered. "First Squad advance."

Harry and nineteen of the clone troopers advanced to the next set of boulders that would provide cover while Hermione and the remaining Clone Troopers covered them.

The majority of the Clones were attacking Count Duku's Droids out on the plain, while Master Yoda was taking a second team to rescue Anakin, Senator Amidala and the other Jedi in the Arena. Yoda had tasked Jedi Knights (and thus Generals in the eyes of the Clone Troopers) Potter and Granger and their hand picked team to hit a major Logistical and Support bunker for Duku's forces. This was by no means the enemy's Command and Control centre, which was to heavily fortified for anything but a full scale assault, but if they could take this bunker, it would severely limit the information the enemy command would have available.

Harry hit cover alongside his squad, and heard Hermione order her team to advance. He scanned both the gulley and the sky, remembering the briefing that the Geionssions can fly. A scatter of rocks tumbled down the gulley's side. Wind whispered through the rocks. Hermione's team hit cover and Harry was about to order the advance.

"Contact. Ten o'clock high." Harry shouted, spotting the first of Genossion Warriors flying over the gulley.

* * *

Hermione put up her hand calling a halt just short of the branching corridor. The strike team had infiltrated the bunker and then the two squads had separated. Harry's squad was going after the communications room, while Hermione's team was going after the information processing centre.

"Come on. Let's go." One of the Clones whispered.

"Don't be in such a rush." Hermione said. "Have patience."

"Yes, 486. Have patience." Another said sarcastically.

Hermione turned, her glare evident even through her combat paint. She checked around the corner and saw that the Genossion security patrol had passed. She then signalled for them to proceed, and gave the emphatic hand signal for silence.

* * *

"Sir, all the charges are planted." One of the Clones reports, getting a nod from Harry.

"Set the timers and let's get moving." Harry ordered.

The clones all fell in and they moved out of the communications room. As they moved through a storage room near the Communications centre, the door at the far end opened and a group of Genossion Bugs came through the door.

"Cover." Harry shouted.

Harry and the clones dropped down behind the crates, except for one Clone who was thrown backwards by a Bug's sonic weapon, his internal organs liquefied. The clones started firing back causing the Bugs to either continually dodge or take cover themselves.

"Squad One to Squad Two." Harry said over his tactical radio.

"One, this is Two. Go." Hermione's voice came back through his earpiece.

"Primary objective achieved, but we are pinned down." Harry replied.

* * *

Hermione and her team approached the Information Processing Centre. Off the corridor, right near the door to the IPC, a door opened into a security room.

"Rush. Take five men into the security room. Clean it out quietly then when we breach, you enter through the Security room."

There was complete silence, and more than a little confusion, among the Clones for a few seconds.

"486, I think she's talking to you." One of the clones said, nudging the clone that Hermione scolded earlier.

Hermione turned around, looking hard at the clones.

"It isn't 486 anymore. My name's Rush." Rush said. "928, 643, 246, 863, with me."

"When do we get names?" 246 complained.

"When you earn them." Rush replied. "Or when the General gives you one."

Rush and his group slung their blasters and drew their knives, crouching as they swept into the security room. A minute later one popped his head back out to give the OK signal.

"Breaching team." Hermione ordered.

The Clones lined up along the walls. Hermione four back on one side. The Breaching charges were attached to the door. The charges went off, and the first trooper in each line through a fragmentation grenade into the Information Centre and ducked back into the corridor. The grenades went off and the troops moved in. Rush's team catching the occupants of the room in a deadly crossfire with the main team.

* * *

"We need to break this." The Clone next to Harry said. "A good thrust down the centre."

Seven of the clones were down. Around half of the Bugs were also down. Harry popped up and shot off a burst over the top of the crate.

"Alright. Sergeant Thrust. Take a team down the centre. I'll flank left." Harry ordered.

"Thrust. I like that." The Clone said.

Thrust ordered several troopers and led them strait down the centre of the room. One of the clones went down in the assault. The Bugs concentrated on the assault. Thrust got close enough to use his knife but went down under the claws of one of the Bugs, just before Harry was able to shoot the offending Bug.

"Thrust, are you alive?" One clone asked.

"Yeah." Thrust replied. "Sorry Sir. The damn Bug got close."

There was a big rent in Thrust's armour.

"You fit to move?" Harry asked.

"Yes Sir."

* * *

The two teams met up on their way out and encountered a final group of Bugs just before reaching the extraction point. The teams turned and began a fighting retreat.

"Thrust, get to the birds and co-ordinate their cover fire." Harry ordered.

"Rush. Go with him." Hermione added. "I want them to put missiles into the overhang on my command."

"So General Potter gave you a name?" Rush asked as he ran along with Thrust.

"Yeah. I suggested a thrust attack, so he named me that. How did you get Rush?"

"Guess." Rush said, which got a laugh from Thrust.

Ten minutes later the overhead was rubble, crushing most of the Bugs and blocking the fire of the rest, and the three extraction gunships were on their way towards the main assembly area, where the majority of the Clone Army was mopping up the Driods.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

"The Trade Federation's ships are retreating. The Genossion's have scatted." Master Kanobe said to the gathering of about thirty Jedi Knights and Masters.

"Makes good tactical sense." Harry said as he entered, removing his combat helmet and running his hand through his hair. "If we leave a light force garrisoning behind, then they will regroup and launch a counter offensive."

Hermione had entered with Harry and they had two Clone Troopers from their strike force.

"On the other hand." Hermione added, "If we leave a heavy force they go underground and fight Gorilla style. Hit and run attacks, sabotage, but if we move in force they melt away."

"What makes you think that we are going to leave a force behind at all?" One of the other Jedi asked.

"You must be joking?" Hermione snapped, her hard expression made even more intimidating by her scar and the tan and black combat paint covering her face. "Firstly they kidnapped two Jedi and a Republic Senator and tried to execute them. Secondly, what the hell do you think all those droids were for, playing patty cake? If we abandon Genossis within two weeks, the Separatists will be back and use the planet as a staging base for attacks on this entire sector."

"And you know this from your vast decades of experience, Granger?" one of the older Jedi Knights said snidely.

"I know this from two years of combat missions." Hermione replied. "How many combat operations have you run, Weston?"

"Rush." Harry said. "What's your opinion?"

"Who is Rush?" Anakin asked.

Rush stepped forward, removing his Clone Trooper helmet.

"General Granger's assessment is accurate. We can not afford to loose Genossis, but we also can not afford to commit too many troops here unless the Separatists exploit other sectors." Rush said.

"Thank you, Rush." Hermione said. "I volunteer to command the garrison force."

"Given the recent events, I think more than one Jedi will be needed to handle this issue." Master Windu said.

"I will stay too." Harry said.

"Agreed." Mace said.

Harry called a halt to the patrol. Thrust was right by his side, the rents in his armour from that first action had been repaired, but they had been repaired in red, so it looked like three bloody slashes in his armour. Over the last two months the other troopers who had stayed behind on Genossis had copied Thrust's armour, so they were all now repaired in red, making it much easier to tell the clones apart based on the rents on their armour.

"Almost." Harry Whispered.

The one hundred clones spread out, ready to duck into cover. The parched brown rugged environment seemed desolate. Harry removed the water bottle from his belt and took a sip, adjusting his open-faced helmet.

"Contact." Someone called, having seen the telltale trickle of falling small stones that they had learnt preceded an attack.

The clones took cover, covering all the approaches. Five hundred Bugs emerged, converging on the troopers. The troopers fired on the onrushing natives, their blasters, with a more rapid rate of fire, cut down many of the bugs but the shear weight of numbers bore down on the clones. Another three hundred bugs were approaching in a second wave.

"Spring it." Harry ordered into his radio.

The Genossions thought that they were ambushing the clones, but now the counter ambush was sprung. Another two hundred clones popped up from concealed foxholes behind the first wave of bugs. Fifty were facing out to attack the second wave while the rest fired in on the first wave in a devastating cross fire.

"Looks like we got all of them here." Thrust said, firing at a wounded bug coming in on a suicide run.

"Mione. Stage two." Harry ordered, his bullpup blaster firing in one hand and his lightsabre, with only one of the blades activated, slicing a bug in half in the other.

"Go, Go, Go." Hermione shouted her voice muffled through the mask she wore.

A second later she stepped out of the assault Lander. Of course, given the fact that the ship was at ten thousand feet, she fell quickly, as did the troopers in hers and the ten other assault craft who followed her out. The aerial strike force body planed down to the battle zone, manoeuvring their way into an effective formation. At a few hundred feet, Hermione gave the order.

"Pull 'em."

Most Clone trooper units, where aerial operations are required would use jet pack equipped troopers. This of course has one major drawback. Noise. Parachutes on the other hand are extremely quite, and given that the bugs had never fought another race that could fly, they generally did not look up in combat. That is why Hermione's one hundred and fifty airborne troopers were able to cause devastating casualties among the bugs by shooting down on them from under the canopies of the parachutes. The second force of bugs moved away from the descending force, unwittingly being forced into the kill zone that the original patrol and the ground ambush force was creating, having driven the remnants of the first bug force into the same kill zone and having set up an inner perimeter.

Hermione's boots hit the ground and she rolled, slapping the quick release and stepping clear of the parachute harness in one smooth movement, then was in among the bugs, a lightsabre in each hand and her bullpup blaster hanging from a strap from her vest. Most of the clones were not smooth in getting out of their parachute harnesses, but managed and started blasting away, the ones closest to the bugs opting for pistols and combat knives over their long barrelled blasters.

"Rush. Take the left hand side." Hermione ordered. "Talon, take the right."

Harry and Hermione stood on the field of battle, both breathing hard from the just finished battle.

"General Granger or General Potter, this is the cruiser Enduring Justice, please respond." The call came over the radio.

"Enduring Justice. This is General Potter, receiving over." Harry replied.

"General. We have your replacement detachment, lead by General Jankal, and orders to transport you and your troopers to Courasant for debriefing and re-deployment."

"Copy, Enduring Justice. Over and out." Harry replied.

"Typical. Only get relieved once we take out the resistance." Hermione said.

"Thrust. Call in the extraction teams."

"Yes, Sir."

Jedi Knight Jankal marched off the Republic Cruiser at the head of his six thousand troopers, all of them resplendent in their pure white armour. When he saw the reception he as shocked, not that he let it show. He had been told that he was replacing a force of six thousand clone troopers left behind after the original battle. What he saw was vastly different that what he expected.

Marshalled on the field were just over two and a half thousand troopers, and almost a third of them were wounded, although at first glace they all appeared to be wounded. Every single clone trooper had what looked like bloody claw marks, long scratches and rents in their armour, making it seem a miracle that any of them were standing, let alone standing smartly at attention. On second inspection one could see it was simply different areas of their armour painted red, but the edges were disturbingly realistic.

The two Jedi Knights were also not what he expected. Neither was dressed in traditional Jedi robes, or even the traditional pants, shirt and vest with shoulder and wrist guards that some Jedi had adopted since the start of the war. Their sandhy coloured pants had a number of pockets sown into the legs. Attached at their waists, in addition to their lightsabers, were water bottles, combat knives, blaster pistols and an array of other items. Their vests were not the nice, snug Jedi style vests, instead they were bulky things, again with lots of bulging pockets, that somehow supported a short, effective looking blaster. Under one arm they both held an almost pot like helmet.

"Well met, Jankal. I'm Harry Potter, this is Hermione Granger." The male Jedi said.

"Well met. I have orders from the Jedi Council to take over the Garrison operations of this planet." Jankal replied nervously.

Harry nodded to Hermione, who walked back to the Troopers.

"Thrust. Let's get moving." She yelled at a clone who had a number of red scars on his armour, most predominantly three parallel running down the front of his chest plate.

"We stand relieved. As of oh-eight-hundred this morning, the last active resistance cells have been neutralised. The Queens and Generals of the remaining hives have accepted the Republic's presence and have vowed to fight against the Separatists should they return, but are unwilling to commit troops to off world campaigns."

"I was under the impression that there were six thousand troopers stationed here." Jankal said, as he watched the veteran troopers board the Cruiser.

"Actually it was originally closer to nine thousand." Harry replied.

"So what happened?" Jankal blurted out.

"It's been a long two months."

With that Harry turned away to marshal his remaining troops for transport off the planet.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

The Assault Transport from the Cruiser let Harry, Hermione and a squad of clones off at the Jedi Temple, parking in one of the bays. The Clones formed a combat wedge behind the two Jedi as they moved through the main hanger, their blasters held at their hips but ready to draw a bead and fire at an instant. They were met at the entrance to the temple by another squad of Clone Troopers, these ones in white armour with green on their left shoulder-pads.

"General Potter, General Granger. General Yoda has requested your presence for a debrief." The Squad Leader said. "Generals and Senior Commanders Only."

"Sergeant Blade, take the squad back to the AT and keep it secured." Harry ordered. "Colonel Thrust, Major Rush, with us."

The squad started moving away.

"I heard the pilots want to mark up the ships too, not just their armour." One of the clones said to another as they started back across the Hanger.

"Sprint." Hermione called out.

The clone who had spoken turned around while the rest of the squad carried on.

"Yes, General."

"Tell the pilots they have permission. Ship damage and max of two armour markings from each crew." Hermione said.

"Yes, General." Sprint replied, before living up to his name to catch up to the squad.

When the squad reached the transport, Sprint spoke to the crew. A commotion ensued as the Pilot and Co-Pilot, their red streaked armour making them look fierce, harassed the ground crews demanding that red paint be found. Not even pilots had been exempt from the ground fighting against the Bugs.

Harry and Hermione, dressed in black cargo pants and long sleaved shirts, moved off into the temple proper. They stopped after a minute to speak to their old friend Jasmine. They had not seen her since before their under-cover mission, just after Marcus' Wake. She seemed a bit down but happy to see them. They both figured that her negative mood was adjustment to the prosthetic left leg she had been fitted with after being injured in the Arena on the first day of the war.

"Look, we have got to get to a debrief with the Council. Maybe we can talk later." Harry said after a few minutes.

"Sorry. I just wanted to say goodbye." Jasmine said softly.

"Maybe we can talk when you get back." Hermione said.

"Maybe." Jasmine said, turning back the way she had come from.

They moved on down the corridor, rounded a corner and found Anakin heading towards them.

"Hey. What's been keeping you, the Council is waiting." Anakin said, falling into step.

"We were just talking to Jasmine." Hermione said. "She seemed a bit down."

Hermione had always been closer to Jasmine than Harry or Anakin, although Jasmine had always spent more time with Marcus that the others.

"Yeah. She took Marcus' death hard. I don't think she ever really got over it." Anakin said. "Then when she both lost her leg and her Master in that Arena… Well, the replacement went fine but they only let her out of Medical yesterday."

Both Harry and Hermione pulled up dead. Her Master dead. Discharged from Medical yesterday. Goodbye.

"Oh no." they both breathed together, turned and bolted down the corridor.

By the time they reached Jasmine's room it was already to late.

* * *

Harry, Anakin, Hermione, Thrust and Rush walked into the briefing room. Most of the Council were there, along with a few other Jedi Knights and ten Clone Commanders.

"Apologies for being late." Hermione said. "But Padawan Bores is dead."

"Was it some kind of accident?" one of the Jedi Knights asked.

"No. I wouldn't call putting your Lightsabre to your temple and turning it on an accident." Harry said, his voice hard.

Hermione put a calming hand on his shoulder. She knew well that Harry took the death of anyone close to him very hard, but this was a new level of emotional torture for him. Jasmine had Suicided. Hermione was the only one that Harry had ever fully confided in, including just how bad his upbringing was and that he had frequently considered Suicide. Before Hogwarts, he had twice attempted it. Once successfully. At age nine, Harry Potter had been clinically dead for one minute twenty-three seconds. He had never said how he had been saved, or by who, only saying that in the Muggle world there was at least one person, besides Hermione's parents, who gave a damn about him.

"Let's get on with the Briefing." Hermione said.

This may have seemed callous but Harry and Hermione focused on the briefing as a way of getting their minds off Jasmine's death. They related a summary of their battles on Geonosis and then listened as the other Jedi and the Clone Commanders related what had been happening in other theatres. In most theatres the Clones had, to varying degrees of success, been engaging almost entirely droid Separatist forces.

"Potter, Granger, what is your opinion of the status of the war." Master Windu asked.

Hermione took a look at Harry, and he nodded to let her answer the question.

"Simply, the clones are all doing extremely well. The problem is their Jedi commanders." Hermione said, causing a murmur of concern among most of the gathered Jedi. "The problem is that they are thinking like Jedi."

"And what is the problem with that?" one of the Jedi asked.

"Nothing." Hermione replied. "As long as you are trying to be a Jedi. The problem is thinking like a Jedi when trying to be a General. Jedi are very insular, where everything is centred around the individual. Generals need to be aware of the everything that is going on around them."

"I would recommend a training seminar on Military strategy." One of the Clone Commanders said. "Generals Potter and Granger would make good instructors."

"I would be willing to do one or two seminars." Harry said. "But I would recommend that the majority of the seminars are hosted by a rotational roster of Clone Commanders. They are extremely capable and they know the capacity of the Clones better than most Jedi would."

"I concur." Hermione added, earning nods from Thrust, Rush and four other Clone Commanders.

* * *

Hermione walked into the Grand Ballroom, surveying the crowd. Senators, System Delegates, a few Jedi and local security, and other dignitaries. The evening was both a political gathering and a social event. Hermione took a non-alcoholic drink from one of the roaming waiters. She noticed a number of familiar faces around the room. Senator Amidala. Anakin. Chancellor Palpatine. Duchess Satie of Mandalor.

As she patrolled she noticed something and changed her course but was intercepted by one of the Senators.

"Master Granger. How goes the war?" the senator asked.

"It goes." She replied simply. "Excuse me, but I need to speak to Senator Amidala."

Hermione deftly manoeuvred her way through to crowd.

"Good evening, Padme." She said, stepping up beside the Senator.

"Hermione." Padme said, giving her old friend a hug. "It's been… what? Three years?"

"Yes. I was on assignment and then the war started." Hermione responded.

They exchanged small talk for a while until Hermione decided to drop a bomb-shell.

"So. You and Anakin huh?" The Jedi asked.

"Uh… Anakin and I what?" Padme stammered.

"When did you start dating? When did you get married?" Hermione asked. "Cause if that boy didn't ask you yet I'll have to kick his ass."

"What makes you think…" the flustered Senator started.

"Oh please. I've know Anakin since he was ten. I've know you almost as long. To me it's obvious, but I doubt anyone else would notice. So spill. I want to know all the details."

Padme just stared at Hermione for a moment, before sighing.

"We got Married just after the incident on Geonosis. So, are you going to report us?" Padme asked, fully expecting to be turned in.

"If I did, I would have to turn myself in." Hermione replied, earning a shocked stare from Padme. "I married Harry just over three years ago."

Padme drained her drink in one gulp.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Hermione said with a grin.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

Ron held up his hand calling his squad to a halt, leaving his assault rifle hanging by its strap. His breath misting and his lungs burning in the extreme cold. The snow covered ground ahead was undisturbed in the large open space between the tree line where his squad was hunkered down and the outer suburbs of the city ahead. Ron had only just rejoined his squad after three months with the think tank.

"Alright, we wait here." Ron ordered before sending a coded radio pulse.

Through his peripheral vision he could see the rest of the assault force moving into position behind the cover of the trees. Ron could hear the coded pulses as each unit moved into position.

After a few minutes a voice cam over the radio.

"Archangel. I say again, Archangel." The voice said and then a pause. "Go. Go. Go."

Ron signalled his squad forward and ran at full pelt out over the open space. Gun fire opened up both from the assaulting troops and from among the buildings. The Death Eaters had learnt quickly that they needed guys with guns to fight this war. They had gotten their soldiers from two sources. One was Mercenaries, hired for their complete lack of morals, and the other force was British Soldiers co-opted by the use of the Imperious Curse on strategic officers and NCO's.

About one third of the way across the kill zone, with a swathe of fallen assault force members sprawled on the snow, the assault looked like it was about to falter as an ever increasing rate of fire came from the buildings and street barricades. Then the attacker's support came in to play. The artillery shells arrived in giant plumes of flame, dirt, brick and snow. The majority of the shells fell in the outskirts buildings but a number were targeted short of the buildings in order to provide craters for cover and foxholes. Once the foxholes were created the barrage lifted from the field and then continued to lift as the soldiers advanced.

Ron's team dropped into one of the foxholes. One of his troopers fell with a bullet in his head. They returned fire to the window where the shots had come from. One trooper sent a 203 grenade through the window, which blew out sending a corpse flying. The call to advance came and they moved into the city.

* * *

Hermione stood at the lectern of the conference room, in front of twenty Jedi, most of the most promising candidates at being truly effective Generals. Anakin and his Master were not present as they had been deployed but there were several Council members, including Master Windu, in attendance. Harry was also there to help with the presentation and had several holorecordings keyed up ready to play and there were also two Clone Commanders to assist in the lecture.

"The single most important adjustment that you will need to make is to remove yourself from the situation and trust your troopers." Hermione said. "In order to get the most out of your troops they need latitude."

"How are we supposed to give them latitude?" one Jedi asked. "Not give them too many orders?"

"No. Remember that the Clones are trained obey any order exactly as you word it. So if you order them to 'Assault that position', then they will perform a direct assault, regardless of how much fire power they are walking into. However if you say 'we need to take that position', then they will plan their assault with the best chance of success." Hermione replied. "What you need to do is give objectives to be achieved but unless you have a very good reason do not tell them how to take the objective. The one order that has killed more Clone Troopers than any other in this war had been 'Follow me'. Just because a Jedi could survive a situation does not mean their Clone Troopers can."

Harry began passing out datapads to all of the Jedi and the two Clone Commanders.

"On the datapads you are receiving you will see the schematics for a hypothetical Separatist fortress that needs to taken. You have two hours to formulate your assault plan. When you are done we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each plan."

* * *

Thrust and Rush walked through the ranks of the troopers standing at attention. Their force had been officially titled the 332nd Legion, and unofficially dubbed by Sergeant Stalker as 'The Predators', and had received a large number of reinforcements, consisting of two thousand veteran clones that had seen fighting on various worlds and another five and a half thousand rookie clones, shipped strait from their training on Kamino. The troopers who had been with them on Geonosis were easily recognisable by their armour markings. The other veterans could be identified by the familiarity with their weapons, their slightly dinged or worn armour and something almost intangible in their bearing. The rookies all stood ram-rod strait, their white armour almost shining.

"Alright, listen up." Thrust began. "My name is Colonel Thrust, your commanding officer. This is Major Rush, my XO. While the 332nd Legion will be conducting standard operations against the main Separatist Clanker forces, we are to be a specialised Legion. Our primary focus will be combat on worlds where the indigenous populations not only support the Separatist cause but have also committed warriors. That's right brothers. We are to fight sentients."

A murmur went through the assembled clone troopers, with the exception of the Geonosis veterans.

"In the Predators we have three very important traditions. Firstly, all armour damage will be repaired in red, like you see on Major Rush, myself and the other Legion Veterans. All troopers who have transferred in from other units are to report to Captain Crush for armour analysis and, where appropriate, damage markings. The Legion's Markings shall also be three parallel slashes on the left shoulder pad. All transferring Troopers shall receive this when they report to Crush. Rookies will receive their Legion Markings once our Veterans have determined you are ready."

At this stage Rush took over the instruction while Thrust disappeared into a turbolift, only to appear a few moments later high on a gantry with a squad of Veteran troopers, their red markings highlighting their white armour.

"Our second major tradition is our preferred method of covert insertion." As Rush said this, Thrust and the squad stepped off gantry high above, earning a gasp from the new legion troopers. "Parachute insertions."

The squad all pulled their chutes, landed and smoothly exited their harnesses without getting tangled.

"You will learn a range of types of Parachute insertions and the best tactical uses for each method." Rush continued. "And our third, and most important tradition. Officers and NCO's lead from the front, and no one leads better than Generals Potter and Granger."

"Right." Thrust said, stepping up besides Rush. "Now we will start the combat drills. We have two battle fields set up. In Alpha it will be two squads of experienced Troopers versus one squad of Veterans. In Beta it will be two platoons of Rookies versus one squad of Veterans."

* * *

Harry leant against the railing high over the training area, watching the tiny figures below of Experience Troopers versus the Veterans. The newer troopers had improved in the last three weeks, and were quickly getting up to speed with the Legion's requirements. Even the Rookies were starting to shape up. He watched as the seven remaining Experienced Troopers were trying to track down the three Veterans still active. The Experienced troopers had split into two teams, one three man and one four man, but they were still having trouble as Veterans, Backstab, Sprint and Deadeye, had all spilt up and were playing to their individual strengths.

Harry heard footsteps along the gantry and Hermione leant against the railing next to him, but facing away from the drop so that they could see each other's faces.

"How's the training going?" she asked.

"They're improving." Harry said, before glancing sideways at her eyes. "We've been tasked, haven't we?"

"Yeah. Some planet in the Mid Rim I've never heard of. Hear it is very Earth like. The Humans there are fighting alongside the Seps." Hermione explained. "We got a full briefing at oh-nine hundred tomorrow and the Flotilla sets off the day after."

When the Legion had been officially established, they were given three Republic Attack Cruisers under the command of Admiral Janna Keltra, the only female Admiral in the Republic Fleet, a brilliant tactician who also recognised the need for different viewpoints and always kept her focus on the overall objectives rather than immediate ones. Since the 332nd had been assigned to her ships, she had invited Harry, Hermione, Rush and Thrust to dine on several occasions, with the intention both the get to know each other and to discuss strategies for hypothetical situation they were likely to encounter.

"Well, long day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed." Hermione said, pushing away from the railing.

Harry nodded as he watched Deadeye score a hit on one of the Experienced Troopers from two hundred meets, the shot passing though some partially obscuring plants and hitting the Trooper in the middle of the six inches of exposed helmet. He was not called Deadeye for nothing.

"You coming?" Hermione asked with a sultry smile, only partially ruined by the scar running down her face.

"Of course." Harry said, standing upright. "Thrust has this under control."

Harry put his arm around his wife's waist as they walked off to their cabin. And their large bed.

* * *

"Mistress Padme, you have a visitor."

"Who is it, C3PO?" Senator Amidala asked.

"An old friend." A female voice said from the other room, one that Padme instantly recognised.

"Hermione." She said, rushing out into the living room of her apartments. "I was not expecting you for a few days."

"You said you wanted to talk, and I ship out with the Legion tomorrow, so if I did not come now then it would be months at the least before I could come." Hermione replied.

Padme led Hermione to the couches and dismissed C3PO.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Hermione asked, adjusting her two Lightsabre hilts on her belt, making sure they did not interfere with the two blaster pistols in their thigh holsters.

"I trust you will keep this confidential." Padme said.

"Of course. Is this political?"

"No." the Senator replied. "Personal. This is about Anakin."

"Right. But if this is about the birds and the bees I'm out of here." Hermione joked.

"It's not about that." Padme replied with a smile. "How do you deal with Harry being in so much danger? I mean every time Anakin… what was the term you used? Ships out? Every time he ships out I worry so much about him."

"Well in my case I am in as much danger as he is." Hermione mused. "So I don't have to wait behind like you do."

Hermione paused looking at the emotion in Padme's eyes.

"My advice is to make the most of every day you have with him. Like Harry and myself, you and Anakin have also both dedicated yourselves not just to each other but also to a cause. The Jedi Order for him and politics for you."

"So that is how you have done it? Making the most of every day?" Padme said.

"We are slightly different. Harry and I have been, if not exactly in a war, but still in conflict for almost our entire life, so we have gotten used to it and the danger is just a part of our life."

The two wives sat and chatted for a few hours, before Hermione had to get back to the Legion while Padme got a call about a resolution going through the Senate, so C3PO showed Hermione out.

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Defender's Path

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Phantom Menace for Star Wars. New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are all ignored. At least the first three or four Harry Potter Books, there will be some changes.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Don't own em, if I did, I would be worth millions.

Summary: When an accident occurs with a potions experiment, Harry and Hermione wake up in a strange place, but that is not all that is different. Set in Seventh Year, Cross with Star Wars.

" " denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought.

AN: There is no correlation between the HP Verse Timeline and the SW Verse Timeline. Time does move faster in SW than HP but each storyline is told semi independently. The placement in the story had no significant meaning.

AN2: No, the Susan Bones that is Minister for Magic is not the one that went through Hogwarts with the gang. It is her Mother.

* * *

"Transit to normal space in 10 seconds." One of the cruiser pilots announced.

Admiral Keltra stood on the bridge of the Cruiser with Jedi Knights Potter and Granger, ready for the transition.

"Transitioning." The crewmember called.

"Flight Commander Swoop, Launch the CAP." Hermione ordered over the intercom.

"Yes General." The CAG replied.

A squadron of ARC-170's flew out of the fighter bay, did a fly-by past the bridge and began their patrol around the flotilla.

"Brilliant idea, General Granger." Janna Keltra said. "Makes me wonder why we did not start doing these Combat Air Patrols years ago."

The Flotilla had exited Hyperspace in the outer reaches of the system, quickly forming up into a spearhead formation with two squadrons flying CAP.

"Scanners, report." The Admiral ordered.

"Detecting a blockade of six Separatist ships." The scanner operator replied.

"Put it on main Holo." Harry ordered.

The main holoterminal showed an image of the planet with the six blockading ships in a cluster above the capital city, which was also the main industrial centre for the planet.

"Can you detect satellites?" Hermione asked.

"Umm. I'm not sure." The operator said.

"Search for focused radio transmissions either from the ships or the planet." Harry suggested.

"Got it. There are four satellites, but none seem to be communicating with the enemy ships. Displaying now."

Four more icons showed up around the planet. One was obviously nothing more than an interstellar communications relay station, located almost amongst the enemy ships. The second seemed to be a surveillance satellite that was focused on a large, volcanic mountain range in mid northern latitudes on almost the same longitude as the Capitol. The third was a deep space telescope above the southern pole, looking towards the Galactic Core. The last one seemed to be a local communications satellite in high orbit approximately forty-five degrees off the Capitol above the equator, crating a bounce link to the second major population centre, where most of the agriculture was centred that was a quarter of the way around the planet from the Capitol.

"Amazing." Hermione exclaimed. "Almost three quarters of the planet is not under surveillance. I'm betting they don't even send fighter patrols to the other side of the planet."

"We can use the gravitational silhouettes of the outer planets to mask our approach." Janna added.

"Just keep scanning the dark side of the two moons to ensure they have not got bases to cover those blind spots." Harry added.

"It's almost as if they simply expect us to jump out of Hyperspace directly in front of them and charge strait into battle." Hermione said, shaking her head.

"All ships to silent running. No radios, short range communications only." The Admiral ordered. "Helm, take us in. And keep us behind the outer planets."

* * *

Had anyone, Republic or Separatist, been there to see the landing operations they would have been stunned at the audacity and precision displayed.

The three Battle Cruisers had made their final course corrections while hidden behind the outer moon, and then had approached the dark side of the planet, the opposite side to the Separatist blockade, on a ballistic trajectory. Once on the dark side of the planet, the Cruisers did not slow or change course as one would expect. Instead they simply opened their bay doors and a veritable armada of smaller ships emerged. Six squadrons of ARC-170 heavy fighters, nine squadrons of the smaller V-19 fighters over a thousand attack gunships, dozens and dozens of larger 50 man transports and a single Jedi Starfighter. These smaller ships quickly manoeuvred into formation and began their decent into the planet's gravity well.

The three Battle Cruisers continued on their ballistic trajectory until they were in the shadow of one of the inner planets, the only action the performed on this final leg was to launch a small probe, which floated off their course before setting up a stationary position. The only function of this probe was to relay narrow beam transmissions from the planet to the now hidden Cruisers, again by extremely narrow beam. A one way communications link for when the 332nd needed space based assistance or extraction.

It would be weeks before the Separatists would realise that there was Republic forces operating on the planet, believing that the earliest activities of the Legion were the work of local insurgents. They would never figure out exactly how the 332nd had managed to bypass the blockade.

* * *

The command meeting was ad-hoc, the ten Senior Legion officers standing around as the troopers set up the camp among the forested area. The two Jedi Generals, both dressed in forest BDU's, along with the eight highest ranking Clone Officers in the Legion, only one of which was a transferred Clone who was easily identified by his mostly white armour, only relived by the Legion marking on his shoulder and a long marking at his left flank where he had been grazed by a Clanker shot.

"Captain Punisher, Captain 564, you two start setting up defensive emplacements." Harry ordered. "Punisher, make sure that there are overlapping heavy weapons covering the major approaches. 564, make good use of the terrain."

"Yes, Sir." 564 replied while Punisher, the Captain of the Heavy Weapons Company, merely grunted.

"Thrust, you and Crash work on duty rosters and training schedules. We don't expect a lot of activity but I don't want the troops to get lax." Hermione added. "Flight Commander Swoop, you and I will be organising the Air Corp, setting up ready squads and organising the concealment of the Birds. Rush, you and Captain Talon will need to survey the local area for lookout locations."

"And what about me?" Captain Stalker asked, his voice just loud enough to hear but in no way deferential.

"We will be on a two week long patrol." Harry said. "We will take fifty troopers and head North-East to the settlement some of the pilots reported during the landings. I want troopers who did well in the jungle training and have high close combat scores. Lieutenant Backstab. Sprint. 609, that rookie 1833. Give me as good a mix of Veterans, Transfers and Rookies as you can."

"Right." Stalker replied.

* * *

Harry signalled a stop and crouched as Stalker and Backstab made their way up to him from their positions. Harry pulled a water bottle out of his combat webbing and took a long drink. They were still a distance from the target village. Stalker and Backstab crouched around him and removed their helmets. Like the rest of the clones in the recon party, both had their armour camouflaged by dappled patterns of different mud and dirt to help them blend in, rather than stand out in their white and red armour. Surprisingly it had been 1833 who had first suggested it, earning him the name of Dapple.

Even with their helmets off, Stalker and Backstab were two very different clones. Stalker was a quiet and self contained commander, the kind who rarely offered opinions or issued vocal orders, but everyone listened when he did, even Major Rush and Colonel Thrust. Stalker had almost his hair clipped close and moved with the slow, patience of a hunter stalking his prey.

Backstab was much quicker and more fluid in his movements, able to dart from cover to cover and sneak up behind very quickly. His hair was kept in a short ponytail and he had a tattoo covering the left side of his face of a vine with a leaf for every close kill he had made with his knife. The tattoo had twelve leaves and two flowers, indicating kills where the enemy had not even seen him.

"We are about two kilometres from the target." Harry said. "What's your take on the team?"

"Adequate." Stalker replied, with a slight nod.

"Yeah, they're shaping up fine." Backstab said. "Dapple's a bit eager at time, but then so is 1465, 986 and even Sprint's been a bit fired up. Give the rookies and transfers a bit of time to settle and a few fire fights and they'll be fine."

"Or dead." Stalker grunted.

"Pessimist." Harry replied with a smile.

The three of them knew Stalker was a realist not a pessimist, the problem was that they were rarely in situations with positive prospects.

"Suggestions for the approach?" Harry asked, respecting both officer's abilities and opinions.

"Depends." Backstab said. "You going to do one of you're little tricks?"

"Which one?" Harry replied.

"Either" Backstab said with a grin, knowing that Harry's 'Tricks' were something only the Legion's two Generals could do.

"Not planning on it. The Troopers need to learn to operate without that kind of assistance, in case General Granger or myself are not there." Harry replied.

"Gully. Treeline." Stalker said.

"Sounds about right." Backstab replied. "Half in through the Gully to the South, they get cover and a close look at the southern sector. The other half on the treeline to the North-East. It's a bit further away that I would like but it has good elevated position and is dense enough to hide the team. Plus with scopes we should be able to get enough intel."

Harry simply nodded. That had been his read on the situation as well.

"Stalker, you take the treeline. Backstab, you'll be with me in the Gully." Harry ordered. "And make sure Sprint is with us in the Gully. I have a feeling we may need him."

The two Clone Officers simply nodded, re-donned their helmets and left to organise the troops. Harry adjusted his open face helmet, checked with a mirror that his camouflage face paint had not run, adjusted his grip on his bullpup blaster and began the advance towards the village.

TBC…


End file.
